Week Ten Blog Post

The reemergence of a unified China was a key event in history. China regained unity under the Sui Dynasty. Under this dynasty, China's canal system was expanded which helped the economy tremendously. Later dynasties, like the Tang and the Song, built on the Sui's legacy. This time period was known as China's "golden age" because of the art and literature that was produced, like poetry, landscape paintings, and ceramics. These dynasties created a long-lasting state structure. It was still a bureaucracy, except this time with a better examination system. The Chinese population nearly doubled over this time, which produced a better economy because of increased agricultural production. China became the most urbanized country. It had big industrial production, especially of iron, and technological innovation, like printing, gunpowder, and shipbuilding. Chinese society quickly became commercialized. During the Tang Dynasty, women enjoyed a less restrictive life, but during the Song Dynasty, Confucianism was revived, which meant more patriarchy.

Pastoral people to the north of China were a threat to the Chinese people. But the Chinese people were also a threat to these northern people. Either way, they needed each other for goods. China created a "tribute system", or a set of practices that required non-Chinese authorities to acknowledge Chinese superiority and their own subordinate place in a Chinese-centered world order. 

Korea was politically independent from China, but they participated in China's tribute system. Korea traded with China for goods and ideas. Korean students would often study in China. These students would study Confucianism and Buddhism. Koreans originally had flexible attitudes towards women, but since they were influenced by China, these flexible attitudes were discouraged. Vietnam was also politically independent and borrowed from China. Unlike Korea, Vietnamese women played a bigger role in social and economic life. Japan was farther away, so borrowing ideas and goods from China was completely voluntary. Japan never really succeeded in creating a bureaucratic state. Japan was significantly distinctive with their religion, literature, and patriarchy.

In terms of the Eurasian world economy, Chinese technological advancements inspired other places and peoples to create their own inventions to help them better their lives. Some technological advancements included gunpowder, paper making, and creating salt through solar evaporation. Chinese goods were wanted worldwide by many different kinds of people. These goods included silk, porcelain, and lacquer ware. China not only gave to the Eurasian economy, but they also received. For instance, they learned how to process sugar and cotton from India. They also learned how to farm rice from Vietnam.

Buddhism began to grow popular in China. It was brought from India through the Silk Road. Buddhism teachings went against Confucian teachings. Buddhism became popular when the Han Dynasty fell, which discredited Confucianism. Buddhist monasteries in China provided social services for all types of ordinary people. The Chinese state didn't like the idea of Buddhism, so critics were abound. The Chinese state later tried to control Buddhists and Buddhism.

Week Nine Blog Post

A major religion came into play during the Classical Era: Islam. Islam's homeland was located in the Arabian peninsula. A major city around this area was Mecca because it was the site of the Kaaba, a religious shrine. A man named Muhammad Ibn Abdullah was tired of the corruption of Mecca, so he took to the mountains and had a religious experience. Allah, or God, told Muhammad to be his prophet. The revelations Muhammad had could be found in the Quran. Islam is a monotheistic religion, with Muhammad being the latest prophet. It requires complete submission to Allah and denounced Mecca's social practices. It sought to return to older values of Arab life. There were 5 major pillars people were to follow: there is no god but Allah and Muhammad was his messenger, ritual prayer, giving to the poor, fasting for Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Mecca or a "hajj". Some say there is a sixth pillar which is a struggle for Allah or "jihad". Muhammad was able to transform Arabia into an Islamic state. Unlike other religions' prophets, Muhammad was a political and military leader too. Islam doesn't have any type of clergy and there was also Sharia law.

Muhammad conquered many lands, mainly for trade routes and agriculture. He didn't force Islam on conquered peoples. When conversion occurred, it was usually among slaves and war prisoners. Conversion was not easy. There was a huge division about who the successor should be after Muhammad died. This created the Sunni and Shia Muslims. The Sunnis believed that caliphs should rule and Shias believed that the leaders should come from the line of Muhammad. Shia Muslims were the minority. Another group was created, the Sufis, who focused on Islam's mystical dimension. Although the Quran stressed that men and women were equal, women were still treated as inferiors.

Islam spread to many places, like India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain. In India, Islam especially appealed to outcasts and those transitioning into agriculture. Islam didn't spread too much in India because Hinduism had such a strong hold on the Indian people. In Anatolia, there was a more thorough Islamization than in India because it was smaller and left leaderless and dispirited. Also, monotheism was already common there. The biggest difference was that instead of Arabic language and writings, Turkish language and writings were more widespread. In West Africa, the spread of Islam was peaceful and voluntary and was spread by Muslim traders and not armies. This created major centers for Islam that attracted many people. In Spain, there was a tolerant time between Muslims and Christians, but it didn't last very long. A Muslim leader started encouraging the persecution of Christians. When the Christian reconquest happened in 1200, Christians fought back and many Muslims were kicked out of Spain.

As for Christianity, it didn't spread very far into Asia and Africa due to the rapid spread of Islam. The Byzantine Empire did not have a specific starting point, as it was just built on the Roman Empire. It might have started around 330 C.E. when the Christian ruler Constantine made Byzantium the new capital. Byzantine was considered the Eastern Roman Empire. Their government was centralized, but mostly concerned with taxes, maintaining order, and suppressing revolts rather than personal freedoms. The church and the state were tied closely together. There was a deep religious division in the Byzantine Empire: Orthodox Christianity vs. Catholicism. The Byzantine Empire had a tense relationship with Western Europe and Persia, but long distance trade was great between the empire and the rest of Eurasia. The Byzantine Empire really preserved the ancient Greek culture. The empire spread Christianity to Russia and Balkan Slavic people to the North of them.

As for Western Europe, the Germans took over the Roman Empire. Western Europeans branched out and created different rulers and kingdoms. Feudalism was a very popular system and it created a noticeable social hierarchy. The Roman Catholic Church was very popular, too. It was mainly in Latin and the church was pretty wealthy. The church had a tight relationship with influential politicians. The population in Western Europe grew a lot overtime. A general global warming trend created favorable conditions for agriculture. Land was widely available as trees and marshes were cleared. All of this made it possible for long-distance trade. A key feature of Western European governments was that they started demanding loyalty from their subjects. Women had many new opportunities because of this economic growth and urbanization, but it gradually declined because of men. The church offered an alternative for women to become nuns and create another kind of life for themselves. Western Europeans wanted to expand their reach to different places, mostly to spread their religion. This marked the beginning of the Crusades, a series of religious wars. The Middle East felt little impact from the Crusades, but Spain, Sicily, and the Baltic region were permanently influenced since they were brought into Western Europe. The Crusades created deeper cultural divisions between different people.

Western Europe, in general, was less developed than other civilizations at the time. Yet, they were willing to borrow ideas from the East. They made remarkable technological advances like the plow, three-way crop rotation, a different kind of windmill, and a way to harness energy through the environment. Competing states within Western Europe created different kinds of political systems. Western Europe also had weaker rulers than those in the East, since the rulers had to compete with warrior aristocrats and church leaders. A major philosophical question was raised also during this time in Christianity: reason vs. faith?

Week Eight Blog Post

There were a few patterns that persisted through 3rd wave civilizations. The first was the globalization of civilization. The second pattern was that older civilizations either persisted or were reconstructed. The third was that there was more extensive interaction between peoples at this time more than ever. This was due to long-distance trade and large empires that promoted cross-cultural interactions. The most influential part of 3rd wave civilizations would have to be the rise of Islam. The 3rd millennium is mostly about men's history but women played an important role too.

In terms of trade, it diminished the economic self-sufficiency of local societies. Trade also promoted social mobility. Trade transformed the political life of civilizations too.

Silk Roads made exchange across Eurasia possible. Silk Roads began through indirect trade between pastoral and agricultural people. They especially prospered when large states provided security for them on the roads. Silk was a major luxury good that was in high demand throughout Afro-Eurasian routes. However, the Silk Road's focus on luxury goods limited its direct impact on most people. But a lot of people gave up work to produce these luxury goods. Cultures spread on the Silk Roads, like Buddhism and Hinduism. Doctrines for these also changed along the roads. Diseases spread, like smallpox, measles, and bubonic plague.

There were also sea roads that made exchange across the Indian Ocean possible. Commerce on the Indian Ocean existed since the First Civilizations. It picked up during second-wave civilizations because mariners learned to ride the monsoons. Two major processes changed the Afro-Eurasian landscape and made Indian Ocean exchange important. The first was the economic and political revival of China. The second was the rise of Islam. Oceanic commerce affected Southeast Asia and East Africa the most, by political change and cultural change. In Southeast Asia, there were new cities, states, and kingdoms emerged that were shaped by commerce. Oceanic commerce spread Indian culture in this area, like political and religious ideas (Buddhism and Hinduism). In East Africa, the civilization of Swahili emerged, which consisted of a set of commercial city-states. There were many commercial opportunities because of African goods, which created a merchant class. Unlike the interior, Swahili was urban. Each city-state was politically independent, like Greece. Swahili was predominately Islamic.

Another kind of road were the sand roads, which helped exchange across the Sahara. Saharan trade or West African trade began among agricultural people. Camels were introduced at the beginning of the Common Era, which provided a way to transport goods across the hot desert. Camels traveled in caravans across the desert. States, empires, and city states were formed in the West African desert area. These were mainly monarchies which drew on wealth from trade. Hierarchies began to form in these areas. Slavery also became common.

In the Western Hemisphere, trade was completely different. There were limited interactions due to the absence of animals and transportation. There were also wide geographic and environmental differences that existed on the Western hemisphere that didn't pose a problem on the other side of the world. The most dense network communications existed in Mesoamerica and the Andes.

Week Seven Blog Post

There were many other significant civilizations than those in Eurasia. In Africa, there were 3 civilizations that are worth noting. First, there was the Meroe civilization. It was located in the Nile Valley, just south of Egypt. It was governed by an all-powerful and sacred monarch. There were a wide variety of economic specialties in this civilization among the people. Meroe had rainfall-based agriculture, which meant that the people weren't dependent on irrigation. Meroe also had a wealthy and strong military power. This civilizations declined because of deforestation and loss of resources. Second, there was the Axum civilization. The economic system in this civilization was based on a productive agricultural system that used a plow-based farming system. Axum had excellent long-distance commerce. Unlike many other civilizations at the time, Christianity became the main religion around the area. Axum declined because of environmental issues and altered trade routes (due to the rise of Islam). Third, there were several Niger Valley civilizations. These civilizations didn't have states. Instead, they had complex urban centers that operated without state authority. They kind of resembled the Indus Valley civilization. There were clusters of economically specialized settlements around a larger, central town. Niger Valley civilizations had occupational castes. They also had long-distance commerce like the Axum civilization.

In Mesoamerica, there were 2 notable civilizations. The first was the Maya civilization. There were a ton of intellectual and artistic achievements made in this civilization. Intellectuals, probably priests, plotted planets, studied mathematics, and created an elaborate writing system. Mayans engineered the landscape for sustainable agriculture for their people. This civilization had a highly fragmented political system with no central authority, frequent warfare, and sacrifices of prisoners of war. It declined because of ecological and political reasons. The second was Teotihuacan. There isn't much known about this civilization, except the fact that they had an impressive city.

In the Andes, there were 4 notable civilizations. First, there was the Chavin. There was obviously an elite class and ordinary people. It is apparent through the types of houses that were found there. Chavin artwork tells us a lot about their gods and their religious life. Chavin was definitely more of a religious cult than a civilization. Second, there was the Moche. This civilization had a complex irrigation system. It was governed by warrior priests who conducted human sacrifices. The working people clearly had superb skills. The Moche civilization declined because of ecological disruption and hostile neighbors. Third, there were the Wari and Tiwanaku civilizations. Wari was located in the northern highlands, while Tiwanaku was located to the south. Both of these civilizations were centered in big urban capitals and their governments collected surplus food in case of drought. Neither civilization controlled a continuous band of territory. Wari used elaborate system of hillside terracing and irrigation. Tiwanaku used a raised field system. Wari's cities were built according to a common plan with highways, making it obvious that there was a tighter political system there than Tiwanaku. The Wari and Tiwanaku civilizations had little contact with each other. Both civilizations ended up abandoning their cities.

In terms of communities, there were a few worth noting. The first was the agricultural Bantu in Africa. These people encountered hunter-gatherers and had several advantages over them. First, agriculture was greater for the economy than hunter-gathering. Second, they brought diseases to the hunter-gatherers, who didn't have immunity to these diseases. Third, they brought iron tools and weapons. These Bantu people became "forest specialists". They had less strict gender systems than other civilizations. Their political systems varied. Their religion was based on ancestral and nature spirits.

The next community was located in North America. The Pueblo people first built houses, then started to build pueblos. Dependence on agriculture, increasing population, and exchange gave rise to the pueblos. These people abandoned their communities. The next community was located in the Eastern Woodlands. This area had a completely independent Agricultural Revolution. The people here would build mounds for burial rituals or to predict lunar eclipses. The rise of the growing of corn helped increase population and create more complex societies there. Like the Pueblo people, these people also abandoned their communities.

Week Six Blog Post

Some key ideologies originated in Eurasia. These include Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, the Greek way of knowing, and Christianity.

Social arrangements differed among places in Eurasia. For instance, in China, the highest social rank was an elite of officials. These elite of officials were trained as scholars in Confucian teachings. They were mostly wealthy men, but a man from a lower class could prove themselves bright enough to be sponsored to train and enter this higher class. The next social rank belonged to the landlord class. These people were very wealthy because of their land. They were also powerful and prestigious because of their quality education and membership to the elite class. The next social rank were the peasants. Peasants made up most of the population. They lived extremely vulnerable lives. Yet, peasants in China were viewed as the backbone of the country by higher classes. Peasants were honored, but still oppressed by society. Merchants weren't as respected as the peasant class. They were considered to be "greedy" and "materialistic". Their activity was controlled by the state authority, as they could grow to be significantly wealthy.

In India, there was a caste system. Birth determined peoples' social status. There was little possibility for social mobility. Inequalities caused by the caste system were considered to be ordained by the gods and natural. Origins of the caste system is still unknown and debated by historians. The caste system went from priests, to warriors and rulers, to commoners, to servants, then to untouchables.

Slavery was a large-scale social arrangement in the Roman Empire. Even non-wealthy people, former slaves, and even slaves themselves could own slaves. Most of the slaves in the Roman Empire were prisoners that were captured while creating the empire, which meant that the slaves were not all from a particular ethnic group. The growth of Christianity during this time didn't stop the system of slavery, which was sad. This was probably because slaves were crucial to the economy, as slaves worked a variety of jobs. Slaves could occupy some of the highest occupations or some of the lowest. Some slaves rebelled against their masters, but most went along with their slave duties.

There was strong patriarchy in China, mostly due to Confucian ideology. As Daoism became more popular than Confucianism, women were starting to become less restricted. But throughout the rise and fall of certain rulers, patriarchy became popular again.

Patriarchy in Athens and Sparta differed. Although Athens was the center of democracy and forward thinking, they were way more restrictive towards their woman than Sparta.

Week Five Blog Post

First-wave and second-wave civilizations shared some similarities, even though they existed during different time periods. The first similarity was that empires still rose and fell. The second similarity was that monarchs still ruled and there were still aristocracies. The third similarity was that women were still considered second-class citizens. The fourth similarity was that the elite ruled over the rest of the social classes. The fifth similarity was that there were no significant technological or economic breakthroughs.

But there were also differences between the first-wave and second-wave civilizations. In terms of second-wave civilizations, populations rose and fell a lot, causing interrupted periods in population growth. Secondly, certain empires were gaining strength and size, like the Romans or the Chinese. Thirdly, important "wisdom traditions" were created in different places during this new time period (Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, etc). Next, there were no major inventions. Instead, there were key, important smaller ones. For instance, in China, several things like the crossbow, a compass, and gunpowder were invented. Also, communication and exchange grew more than ever before between different kinds of civilizations around the known world.

Empires were key to second-wave civilizations. An empire is "a large, aggressive state that conquers, rules, and extracts resources from other states and people, encompasses many peoples and cultures in one political system, causing political or social oppression."

The first empire I'm going to talk about is the Persian Empire. It was very diverse as it encompassed different lands. Since there were so many different people, the Persian Empire was pretty tolerant of foreign customs. They did this so they could win the favor of the people they have conquered. Monarchs were extremely important in the Persian Empire. The Persians also had very elaborate infrastructure and impressive imperial centers.

As for the Greeks, they had a significantly smaller population than the Persian Empire. The geography of Greece and that general area caused it to be split up into city-states. Naturally, conflict between city-states was common. Greece had a unique political system as any man could participate in the government.

The Greeks and Persians fought in the Greco-Persian Wars because Persia wanted to conquer Greece. The Greeks surprisingly won, against all odds. Because of these wars, the notion of East vs. West was born (Greece is the West, Persia is the East). After their victory against the Persians, the glory days of Greece begun.

However, this didn't last for very long. Alexander the Great from Macedonia conquered Greece, then moved onto Persia. He conquered much of the known world at the time, even though he was only in his 20's. With Alexander's rule, the Greek culture spread throughout his empire. This is referred to as the Hellenistic Era.

The next major empire I'm going to talk about is Rome. Rome started out as a weak city-state. They were the first to start the idea of a republican political system. After a civil war, this republic became an empire with an actual emperor. The Roman Empire encompassed the whole Mediterranean and beyond. This wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Rome's powerful military.

Then there is China. After years of conflict, China needed to be united. A ruler named Qin successfully unified China. He used a political philosophy called "Legalism", which included clear rules and harsh punishments so he could keep his people in line and obeying the law. He defeated all of the other states that would've been in conflict with his using his powerful military. Qin was a very harsh ruler.

The Roman and Chinese empires had similarities and differences. Both thought of themselves as universal powers and that they were meant to rule the world. Both had impressive public works, like aqueducts, bridges, and roads. Both of these empires borrowed religions from different places, like Christianity and Buddhism. But Rome had many different types of people, culturally, in its empire. China was culturally similar. Rome used the language of Latin, which spread into different languages like English, Spanish, French, etc. China used Chinese, which were symbols that are still used today. China developed a great bureaucracy, whereas Rome developed an elaborate system of law.

All great empires eventually fall. Why? It was mostly because of rivalry between the people in the empire, the threat from outsiders, the population got too big, or things got too expensive.

Week Four Blog Post

Writing was an important technological advancement that was made in the Ancient Era. Without writing, we wouldn't have literature, astronomy, philosophy, and so much more important additions to human life. Writing is a helpful way for historians to see how ancient people lived, too. Ancient people often used writing to help preserve oral traditions and stories. Though they were usually only written by upper-class men, these ancient writings could tell historians and people nowadays how ancient peoples lived, viewed their societies, and thought about their place in their known world. 

The introductory question that I chose to answer was related to The Law Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1800 B.C.). It asked: "If you knew nothing else about ancient Mesopotamia, what could you conclude from the Code of Hammurabi about the economy and society of this civilization in the eighteenth century B.C.E.? What kind of economy prevailed in the region? What distinct social groups are mentioned in the code? What rights did women enjoy and to what restrictions were they subject?"

Well, I don't really know much about ancient Mesopotamia aside from what I've read in the text. So reading actual writing from the time was very interesting and eye-opening to what life must have really been like. In terms of the economy, people paid others to transport their goods from place to place. Transactions like these included the process of giving receipts, which I thought was pretty cool. Also, they had some form of banking, or so it seemed. "122. If any one give another silver, gold, or anything else to keep, he shall show everything to some witness, draw up a contract, and then hand it over for safe keeping..." This sounds to me like another person has to be present during the transaction to do record keeping.

Ancient Mesopotamian society seemed pretty restrictive to women and extremely strict with their rules and laws. "An eye for an eye" was a big theme that I picked up on when reading through the laws. Slavery was also allowed and probably encouraged in ancient society.

The social groups mentioned in the code were slaves, criminals, women, and the poor.

Women didn't enjoy many rights and were subject to tons of restrictions. The rights that I did notice included: 
1. When a man runs away from his wife, she doesn't have to go back with him.
2. Wives with children get some of the husband's property if he chooses to divorce her.
3. Sick wives will be taken care of by their husbands, even though the husband can remarry if he chooses.

The restrictions included:
1. If a woman's husband brings home another woman and she doesn't have sex with her, she's not a wife to him.
2. Women cannot have sex with another man (they can't even be accused).
3. "Women of God" can't open taverns.